I have a confession to make - I don't like hockey. I know that this makes me a Prince George traitor but it's true. I didn't grow up in a hockey-watching family and I only have ever been to one Spruce Kings game and maybe four Cougar's games in my entire life. I am, however, Canadian and I'm from Prince George and I have half-watched my fair share of hockey games at pubs and other people's houses when I don't have control of the remote control.
I have nothing against hockey, but I 'm secretly pleased when the NHL is locked out and I can watch figure skating at the pub instead.
I hadn't been to a Cougar's game since I was about 14 years old, so when my husband got tickets to the game last weekend we decided that it might be fun to go. I was telling my husband on the way there that I hadn't been to a game since I was in high school and how much the people in Prince George love the Cougars. I told him how excited everyone was to have the WHL come to town and how fast the tickets sold out when the Cougars made the playoffs.
I liked the games that I went to as a teen. ou were pressed up against your neighbour and there were hardly any seats free. Goals, fights and hockey drama - it was fun.
When we got to the CN Centre and found our seats, we looked around and it seemed like we were two of about 20 people who were there early. Closer to the start of the game, there were more people that came and as a rough estimate, I'd say that we were only half-full. It felt like a barren wasteland.
Even though I'm not the biggest fan of hockey in general, I still feel like the Cougars are my home team. When it feels like you're sitting by yourself, the game isn't as fun. I understand that people and fans can get frustrated when our poor Cougars lost 7-0 to the Blazers. People like to see the hometown win. I'm sad because I thought that we were the town who loved hockey no matter what and supported our hometown teams, regardless of the score. I know that I am the farthest thing from a hockey advocate that you can find, but I remember what it was like when we bought the Cougars from Victoria and how happy we were.
Where's the love now?
